Energy Management Q&A Part 2

• How can I manage my energy better?

We all have people in our life that leave us feeling energized, whilst some people leave you drained, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? This is one of the effective ways to look at energy management.

Let me ask you this what if the person who is draining most of your energy is you?

When we look at the key areas of our life, they form the bases for how we rate our success, are you experiencing fulfillment in any of those areas, or more importantly is what you value most showing up in your day to day life.

A simple example would be someone who is quite career driven and wants to achieve financial freedom for there family, this person becomes so focused on the money goal that they forget about the actual quality family time that costs nothing, lack of this important element leads to a disconnect and sends the individual toward a breaking point because they have neglected the very thing they value most. Ensure to push energy into those things you value as this energy is a renewable source. Constantly ask yourself what you value most and aim to check each of the following 7 areas to see if your values show up.

1. Career

2. Finances

3. Social

4. Spiritual

5. Mental

6. Physical/Health

7. Family

Nutrition

• Why do I get a craving?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself how much sugar is in your breakfast or in your day to day meals and snacks, we all know that sugar is an additive substance that when eaten in large amounts can negatively impact our weight, energy levels and gut bacteria.

Well did you know that we have a connection between the gut and the brain which work in unison in this addictive cycle, as proven in the excellent book The Psychobiotic Revolution by Scott Anderson. We now see that we actually do have a sweet tooth but its located in our gut not our mouth, essentially if we eat high levels of sugar we crave sugar most of the time, so ask yourself the question do you know where your sugar comes from in your diet? While you are doing that add up the amount of sugar in teaspoons in this standard breakfast 45g bowl of cornflakes, 200ml of skimmed milk, a 250 ml glass of orange juice and an actimel, quick hint 1 teaspoon is the equivalent of 4g.

Remember I am not saying you need to count every gram of sugar in your diet but I am asking you to not fall into the trap of being totally oblivious to the sugar in products that you eat day in day out.

• What foods give us energy?

Very simply I want you to think about portion sizes because for most of the population we do not need to exclude anything from our diet but we do need to evaluate daily portion sizes and macro-nutrients?

If we think along the lines of a car with 3 different tanks and each tank serves various purposes. Protein for example can improve muscle tone and help reduce hunger levels, carbohydrate-based food provides easy access to energy and vital micronutrients which are cells need and fats help our nervous system and improve our hormone profile. So rather than singling out certain foods I want you to ask yourself 1 simple question.

How much and what is the quality of the protein, carbohydrate and fats I am eating per day?

Furthermore, how much refers to what is your daily caloric intake and are you lacking protein or good fats in favour of high carbohydrate foods, this is something you may need to change and then ask yourself am I choosing the best quality food sources, lean meat versus processed meats, high fibre carbohydrates versus refined carbohydrates and finally are you getting your fats from high fatty meat versus nuts and good quality oils. Ultimately this is a key to gaining energy from your nutrition plan.

Thanks

Mark@fitvision.ie